Capitol Hill is going to take another look at Comcast’s deal for NBC Universal next week.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday Feb. 25 on “Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Marketplace.”
The hearing will be the third in Congress. A fourth hearing has yet to be announced.
No witness list has been released, but as at the first two hearings, Comcast chairman CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal president-CEO Jeff Zucker are expected to speak.
"It is clear to me that any merger of this magnitude should be reviewed carefully," Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. said in a January statement.
While praising Comcast for making some upfront commitments to public service, Conyers said at the time he was looking for "additional guarantees to protect competition and consumers.
“Such additions might include commitments to independent programming in addition to its already stated commitment to diverse programming, maintaining access to sports programming, and ensuring that consumers still have access to their favorite shows online for minimal or no cost.”
The House Judiciary Committee mostly will examine any anti-trust issues in the deal and the Justice Department review of the deal.
An earlier hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Committee focused mostly on public interest issues and the Federal Communications Commission review.
The Senate has a similar split. The Senate Judiciary Committee recent hearing focused on the deal’s anti-trust implications. The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to hold its own hearing to look at other implications.
